Benefits of Digestive Enzymes: 9 Ways They Improve Gut Health

Digestive enzymes are specialized proteins that help break down the food we eat into absorbable components. Some digestive enzymes, like amylase and lipase, are produced by the human body. Others, like alpha-galactosidase and fructan hydrolase, are not. Some people do not produce enough digestive enzymes (such as with lactose intolerance). In these cases, supplementation with over-the-counter (OTC) digestive enzymes can provide relief from uncomfortable symptoms like gas, bloating, and diarrhea.

This article will explain how digestive enzymes work and review the key benefits of digestive enzyme supplements. Here's what we'll cover:

• What Are Digestive Enzymes?

• 9 Benefits of Digestive Enzymes

• What Are Digestive Enzyme Supplements?

• Who Should Take Digestive Enzyme Supplements?

• How To Get Started With Supplements

Let's dive in!

What Are Digestive Enzymes?

Digestive enzymes are specialized proteins that break down food we eat so it can be used by the body for energy and processes like muscle growth and hormone production.

When everything is functioning properly, digestive enzymes work in a timed, step-by-step process that starts the moment you see or smell food and continues right up until nutrients are absorbed in the small intestine. Here's a brief overview of the steps of digestive enzyme function:

• Smelling, seeing, or thinking about food activates the "cephalic phase" of digestion: This triggers saliva production and stomach acid release, as well as sending signals to the pancreas to start producing digestive enzymes.

• Digestion in the mouth: In the mouth, salivary amylase kicks off the digestive process by breaking long starch molecules into smaller sugars.

• Digestion in the stomach: The stomach releases an enzyme called pepsin, as well as hydrochloric acid. The acid begins the process of unfolding proteins, while pepsin breaks them into smaller chains called peptides. Stomach acid inactivates salivary amylase, which means the primary focus in the stomach is on digesting proteins.

• Digestion in the small intestine: As the acidic food (known as "chyme") enters the small intestine, it triggers the release of hormones that tell the pancreas to release digestive enzymes such as amylase (to finish carbohydrate digestion), lipase and bile (to break down fats), and proteases such as trypsin and chymotrypsin (to break proteins into amino acids).

• Digestion in the small intestinal brush border: The lining of the small intestine (known as the "brush border") has enzymes anchored to its surface. These enzymes include lactase, sucrase-isomaltase, maltase-glucoamylase, and aminopeptidases, and they break nutrients into their final, absorbable forms. 

Each enzyme has a specific substrate (type of food component it breaks down), timing, and location. For example, proteolytic enzymes (known as "proteases") break down proteins into smaller components like peptides or amino acids.

When everything is functioning properly, your body will produce enough of each enzyme to break down the food you eat into absorbable forms. If you don't produce enough digestive enzymes, you may experience uncomfortable digestive symptoms.

Types of Digestive Enzymes

Digestive enzymes break down food components like carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Here's an overview of some common digestive enzymes.

9 Benefits of Digestive Enzymes

Digestive enzyme supplementation can benefit a wide range of digestive issues and health conditions, including:

• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

• Gas

• Bloating

• Diarrhea

• Belly pain

• Lactose intolerance

• CSID

• Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI), which may be caused by health conditions like cystic fibrosis or chronic pancreatitis.

Research understanding all the benefits of dietary supplements containing digestive enzymes continues to evolve, but when used in the right situations, they can be very beneficial.

Benefit #1: Reduces IBS Symptoms

IBS is one of the most common gastrointestinal diseases. With symptoms like gas, bloating, abdominal pain, and changes in bowel movements, living with IBS can significantly impact a person's quality of life. While food itself doesn't cause IBS, some people with IBS are sensitive to fermentable carbohydrates called FODMAPs (which stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols).

FODMAPs resist digestion in the small intestine and instead move to the large intestine intact. When the gut bacteria rapidly ferment them, gas is produced, and in some cases, water is pulled into the colon. For most people, this doesn't cause any major issues. But for people with extra-sensitive digestive tracts (such as people with IBS), the stretching of the intestinal walls caused by gas production and increased intestinal fluid content can be extremely painful.

Fortunately, taking digestive enzymes can aid digestion by breaking down the FODMAPs before they reach the large intestine, thereby reducing bacterial fermentation and gas production. 

It's important to note that there's often an overlap between IBS and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). SIBO can damage the small intestinal wall (which produces lactase) and may cause temporary lactose intolerance. However, while digestive enzymes can help treat the symptoms of SIBO, they don't do anything to treat the condition itself. In most cases, antibiotic treatment is needed to eradicate the unwanted bacteria in the small intestine.

Benefit #2: Increases Absorption of Nutrients

Certain medical conditions, such as exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI), cause reduced production or activity of the digestive enzymes needed to break down fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. Because nutrients aren't absorbed properly, EPI often causes symptoms like steatorrhea (fatty, pale, floating, oily stools), gas, bloating, abdominal cramping, unintentional weight loss, and vitamin deficiencies (especially fat-soluble vitamins like vitamins A, D, E, and K).

Common causes of EPI include chronic pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), cystic fibrosis, and pancreatic cancer or surgery. In these cases, the main treatment for enzyme deficiency is pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT). These prescription enzymes replace the missing digestive enzymes and are taken with meals and snacks. By ensuring food is properly broken down, these digestive enzymes can increase the absorption of all the nutrients that were previously traveling through the digestive system unabsorbed.

Benefit #3: Increases Energy

If you're avoiding a long list of foods because they cause digestive problems, you could be missing out on important nutrients. Taking digestive enzymes to help improve your tolerance to fermentable carbohydrates enables you to have a more diverse, nutritious diet. This may improve your overall energy levels.

Benefit #4: Prevents Intestinal Permeability

Increased intestinal permeability (colloquially known as "leaky gut") means the gut lining has become less effective at keeping out unwanted substances. While digestive enzymes don't directly "tighten" or "loosen" the gut barrier, they can indirectly protect it by enabling you to eat foods that support the gut microbiota and reducing inflammatory byproducts.  

Here's a breakdown of how it works:

• Eating fermentable carbohydrates promotes the growth of good bacteria in the large intestine: Fermentable carbohydrates, such as FODMAPs, promote the growth of good bacteria in the gut. Research shows that the gut microbiota plays a key role in the structure and function of the intestinal lining by regulating the expression of gut barrier proteins (like tight junctions) and modulating the immune system. By enabling you to eat more of the foods that promote a healthy gut microbiota, digestive enzymes may indirectly promote a healthy gut barrier and reduce intestinal permeability.

• Enzymes reduce inflammatory byproducts that damage the gut barrier: When proteins aren't properly digested, bacteria can break them down into inflammatory compounds such as ammonia and hydrogen sulfide. These compounds can damage the cells lining the intestines, reduce the thickness of the intestinal barrier, and increase intestinal permeability. Digestive enzymes may help minimize the formation of these compounds by breaking down proteins before they reach the large intestine.

Overall, digestive enzymes support gut barrier integrity by ensuring complete digestion, allowing for a gut-healthy diet and reducing stresses that can damage the intestinal lining.

Benefit #5: Helps With Lactose Intolerance

Lactose intolerance occurs when a person's body doesn't produce enough of the enzyme needed to break down lactose (the sugar naturally found in dairy products). This enzyme is called lactase and is produced in the small intestine. Lactase production naturally decreases with age, but damage to the small intestine (such as with untreated celiac disease, Crohn's disease, chemotherapy or radiation, and SIBO) can also temporarily reduce lactase levels.

Taking an over-the-counter product like a lactase supplement before eating dairy products can help alleviate symptoms associated with lactose malabsorption, including gas, bloating, cramping, and diarrhea.

Benefit #6: Helps With Pregnancy-Related Digestive Issues

The hormonal changes (specifically, increased levels of progesterone) that occur during pregnancy can slow down digestion. This slower gut motility can lead to carbohydrates sitting in the large intestine for longer, resulting in increased fermentation by the gut bacteria. Enzymes that break down fermentable carbohydrates can reduce gas production by digesting these carbohydrates more completely, thereby reducing bacterial fermentation and gas production.

While digestive enzymes can be helpful during pregnancy, they aren't appropriate for everyone. Always check with your healthcare provider before starting any new supplement, especially during pregnancy. Additionally, if you're taking other supplements, it's best to check that there are no interactions between them.

Benefit #7: Expands Dietary Flexibility

Digestive enzymes help break down a wider variety of foods more effectively, so those who usually have a restrictive diet can enjoy a wider range of foods. Here are some common digestive enzymes, and the problem foods to which they can improve tolerance:

• Lactase: Lactose (found in dairy products like milk, yogurt, and ice cream).

• Alpha-galactosidase: GOS (found in foods like beans, cruciferous vegetables, and certain nuts).

• Fructan hydrolase: Fructans (found in foods like wheat, onions, and garlic).

Eating foods high in fermentable carbohydrates has many health benefits because these carbohydrates act as prebiotics (food for your good gut microbes).

Benefit #8: Reduces Bloating and Gas

Digestive enzymes like lactase, alpha-galactosidase, and fructan hydrolase break down the fermentable carbohydrates in high-FODMAP foods, leading to reduced gas production and increased comfort after meals. Here's a brief explanation of how enzymes work on FODMAPs:

• Sprinkle enzymes on your food: Add the digestive enzymes directly to high-FODMAP foods, like pasta, yogurt, legumes, or foods containing garlic and onions.

• Enzymes start working right away: Fructan hydrolase breaks fructans into individual carbohydrate units. Lactase breaks lactose into glucose and galactose. Alpha-galactosidase breaks down GOS into individual sugars.

• Smaller sugars are absorbed in the small intestine: By the time your meal leaves your stomach and enters the small intestine, a significant amount of the original FODMAPs have been broken down into readily absorbable simpler carbohydrates.

• Less FODMAP "food" reaches your gut bacteria in the colon: Because the digestive enzymes break down the FODMAPs, less fermentable material arrives in the colon. This results in less gas, bloating, and discomfort for many people.

A supplement containing different enzymes to break down FODMAPs can provide relief from uncomfortable symptoms of IBS, like gas, bloating, and abdominal pain.

Benefit #9: Improves Overall Well-Being

It's hard to have a good mood when you're experiencing painful digestive symptoms, and studies have shown that people with digestive issues like IBS tend to have higher rates of depression and anxiety. While there's no research showing that digestive enzymes specifically help with mental health, the fact that they can help minimize digestive issues like gas and bloating may improve overall well-being and quality of life.

Additionally, using digestive enzymes can reduce the stress around eating. When you need dietary modifications (such as low FODMAP), it can be tricky to find something that fits your needs, especially when eating out. Since digestive enzymes break down the FODMAPs, they can give you the confidence to enjoy food without fear and anxiety. 

What Are Digestive Enzyme Supplements?

Digestive enzyme supplements are available over-the-counter or by prescription, depending on the type of enzyme and what it's being used for. Digestive enzyme supplements contain digestive enzymes that a person may be lacking. For example, supplements designed to help manage the symptoms of lactose intolerance contain the enzyme lactase.

A person may wish to take digestive enzyme supplements if they have a medical condition like lactose intolerance as a way to expand their diet and manage the symptoms of their condition.

Who Should Take Digestive Enzyme Supplements

While digestive enzymes will not benefit everyone, people with conditions that reduce the production or action of enzymes may benefit from them. Some conditions where digestive enzyme supplements may be useful include:

• People who cannot digest certain foods (such as fermentable carbohydrates like fructans, GOS, and lactose)

• People with lactose intolerance 

• People with congenital sucrase-isomaltase deficiency (CSID)

• People with EPI

• IBS

• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

• Cancer treatment complications/side effects (e.g., radiation or surgery reducing enzyme production)

While certain conditions, such as EPI, require a medical diagnosis and prescription of digestive enzymes, other conditions, such as people suffering from bloating and gas after eating fermentable carbohydrates, can be managed by OTC digestive enzymes.

How To Get Started With Supplements

If you've never tried digestive enzyme supplements before, the first step is understanding which foods and their related symptoms you're trying to target. Some supplements are designed to help with dairy, others focus on beans and lentils, and broad-spectrum blends support digestion as a whole.

If bloating and discomfort are your main concerns, you may want to start by learning more about the common causes of gas and bloating and whether certain foods—like high FODMAP ingredients—could be contributing to your discomfort. 

Digestive enzyme supplements are typically taken right before your meal (in the case of tablets or capsules) or sprinkled directly on your food (in the case of powders). Choose an enzyme tailored to the specific foods you don't tolerate (for example, lactase for lactose intolerance).

For people following a low FODMAP approach, a targeted enzyme supplement like FODZYME can be beneficial because it breaks down three types of FODMAPs: fructans, GOS, and lactose. If your main triggers include garlic, onion, wheat, legumes, or dairy (common foods to avoid with IBS), FODZYME may help with symptoms like gas, bloating, and abdominal discomfort when eating these foods.

Try FODZYME today!